


It's Always Sunny on Wednesday Afternoon

by TheLegendOfChel



Series: Rain or Shine [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Demon Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hero Keith, Human Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mage & Demon Queen AU, Or don't, Swordsman Keith, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, doesn't actually have anything to do with Always Sunny sorry, it's up to you, please read It Never Rains on Saturday first, the Gang might make a cameo tho, they basically live in an rpg, this is an au of an au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23228215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLegendOfChel/pseuds/TheLegendOfChel
Summary: As the greatest swordsman in Altea, many believe Keith is destined to slay the Demon King and bring peace to the kingdom.That destiny would be a lot easier if said Demon King would stop asking Keith to marry him.-----aka a role reversal AU for It Never Rains on Saturday
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Rain or Shine [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1468156
Comments: 92
Kudos: 585





	It's Always Sunny on Wednesday Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> This is an extra story for my fic It Never Rains on Saturday. As such, it’s not really a complete fic on its own. The story is kind of...condensed? It's an AU of an AU so it might not make total sense if you haven’t already read INRoS, especially in regards to some worldbuilding elements.
> 
> For those who still want to read this one first and aren’t familiar with Mage & Demon Queen, this AU takes place in a world that follows the same rules as a video game RPG. However, there are no “players” controlling the characters. It’s more like they’re all sentient NPCs. 
> 
> Also, apologies for the title. I couldn’t help myself lol.
> 
> Enjoy! (*´∇｀*)

Keith stared at the ebony doors with grim determination. Finally, after weeks of fighting countless demons and monsters, the hero had arrived at the highest floor. All his efforts had paid off, and Keith now stood before the Demon King's lair.

Keith took a moment to make sure his inventory was in order for quick access to any items he might need in battle. He readjusted the clasp of the red cloak around his shoulders and pulled the hood up to increase his armor stats a couple of points. 

Sword drawn, Keith pushed open the doors and walked inside. As he traversed the large throne room, his eyes never left the lone figure waiting at the end.

"Oh good, a challenger," the figure said as Keith drew closer. "You're just in time. I was starting to get bored."

Coming to a halt before the throne, Keith glared up at the Demon King from the shadow of his hood. He looked a lot more human than Keith expected. Even sitting down, Keith could tell the demon was tall, with long legs crossed casually in front of him clad in leather so tight it looked painted on. He had dark skin, short brown hair, and crystal blue eyes. Large wings sprouted from his back, a shade of blue so dark they were almost black, and two horns curved up from his temples. 

"Demon King," Keith said, "I've come to ki-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the demon flapped his hand. "You're here to kill me and bring peace to Altea, blah blah blah, I've heard it all before. What's your name?"

"I…" Keith blinked. "What?"

"Your name," the demon repeated. "I deserve to know the identity of the valiant hero that slays me, don’t I?"

Keith frowned up at him for a long moment before finally answering.

"Keith."

"Keith," the demon said slowly, as if trying to see how the name felt in his mouth. "Cute. I like it."

"Can we fight now?" Keith asked impatiently. 

"Fine, fine," the Demon King sighed. "Just trying to make conversation, jeez."

He languidly rose from his throne and summoned a wicked looking longbow made from wood as dark as night. Many an adventurer spoke of the Demon King's deadly precision, claiming the last thing they saw before respawning was his sharp blue gaze. 

As a swordsman, Keith knew his best chance to defeat the Demon King was in close range, so before he had a chance to flap his wings and launch into the air, Keith charged up the dais steps.

The hero's aim was true and his blade flew straight towards the demon's heart, only for the Demon King to grip his bow like a staff and block Keith's sword at the last second.

Weapons crossed between them, the Demon King raised an eyebrow. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

Keith quickly realized that while he was pushing against the demon's bow with all his might, the Demon King himself didn't seem to be exerting much force at all. He clearly had the upper hand. Keith leapt back a few feet and hurled a handful of throwing knives at his opponent's face. The Demon King batted them away with ease, but it was just enough of a distraction that he didn't notice Keith rush around his flank in time to dodge the swipe of his blade.

The demon jumped back and examined the shallow wound on his side with mild curiosity. He looked back up at Keith with a smirk.

"Not bad," he said. "You're a lot faster than you look."

With a powerful beat of his leathery wings, the Demon King soared up into the sky. Keith lowered his stance, sword at the ready.

The demon grinned. "Let's put that speed to the test."

In what felt like a fraction of a second, a storm of arrows began to rain down on Keith. With a muttered curse, the hero ran across the throne room, dodging the Demon King's attacks. The arrows really were as fast and precise as everyone said, and it was all Keith could do to stay alive, let alone counterattack.

High above him, the Demon King laughed. The small part of Keith's brain that wasn't focused on the fight noticed that the laugh was surprisingly free of malice. It rang bright and cheerful, like they were playing some grand game.

Keith just felt more pissed off.

A sudden tug jerked Keith to a halt. He looked back to find three of the Demon King's arrows pinning his cloak to the wall. Keith hastily unclasped the cloak but didn't have time to dodge roll out of the way before the demon pounced on him. They tussled around until the Demon King managed to gain the upper hand, pinning Keith’s wrists to the floor in an iron grip.

"Ah ha!" the Demon King shouted triumphantly. "I got...you."

The Demon King trailed off, his grin fading as he stared down at Keith. He barely seemed to notice Keith struggling in an attempt to break free.

"Get off of me!" Keith snapped.

The Demon King blinked. "Oh, uh...sorry."

Then, to Keith's surprise, the demon obeyed. Keith scrambled away, retrieving his sword to point it at the Demon King. When the demon made no move to attack, Keith eyed him warily.

"What's wrong with you?" Keith asked. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"You…" the demon continued to stare at Keith.

Irritation growing, Keith snapped, "What?"

"You're beautiful," the Demon King said, his voice filled with hushed awe.

Keith's brain screeched to a halt.

"...Huh?"

\-----

Thus began Keith's era of torment. Every time he went to the demon tower, the Demon King would refuse to fight him. Instead he would talk Keith's ear off while avoiding the swing of Keith's sword until eventually Keith ran out of supplies and had to return home. The Demon King, or Lance as he insisted Keith call him, offered to give Keith food so he didn't have to leave, but no way in hell was Keith going to dine with the kingdom's greatest adversary. 

He did eventually start to call the Demon King by his name, if only so he would stop bugging Keith about it.

Lance must have told the other demons to let Keith through too, because from that first day on, Keith never had to fight anyone to get to the top floor. Honestly, it was a little disappointing. Keith actually really liked combat. He could test his skills against Lance, but it started to feel unsporting when the Demon King never fought back.

"Will you take this seriously?!" Keith yelled as Lance nimbly danced out of the way of Keith's blade.

"Will you accept my marriage proposal?" Lance shot back.

"No!"

"Then no," Lance shrugged.

"Aurgh!" Keith shoved his sword back into its scabbard and turned away. "You're so fucking annoying!"

Lance frowned. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Home!" Keith walked toward the doors only for the Demon King to swoop down in front of him.

"Aw, don't go!" Lance pleaded, mirroring Keith when he tried to step around the demon. "We were having fun!"

"This isn't fun!" Keith snapped. "You're just toying with me. I get it, okay. You're way more powerful than I am. You don't have to be an ass about it."

"What?" Lance blinked. "That's not...I wasn't…"

"I'm going home," Keith said. "I'm going to train and level up, and then when I come back you'll actually respect me."

"I respect you now!" Lance insisted. "I'm not making fun of you, I swear. I just don't want to fight you."

"Why not?" Keith demanded. 

"You know why not."

Keith scoffed and looked away, crossing his arms.

"You're still trying to pull that?"

"I'm not pulling anything," Lance said. "I'm telling the truth."

Keith shot him a look. "You honestly expect me to believe that you, what, fell in love with me at first sight?"

"Yes!" Lance threw his hands up. "That's what I've been saying the whole time!"

"Tch," Keith glanced away again. "Stupid."

"What do I have to do to get you to believe me?" Lance demanded. "Because I'll do it!"

Keith opened his mouth to retort that nothing would make him believe the lies of a demon, but something stopped the words in his throat. Maybe it was the way Lance’s blue eyes shone with earnest intent. Maybe it was the way the demon’s body stood coiled with tension, like Lance was ready to move the earth if Keith asked him to. Maybe it was the tiniest tremble of Lance’s fingers, like he actually cared what Keith said and feared his rejection.

Whatever it was, Keith bit back his instinctive response. He studied the Demon King for a long moment.

“You really mean it?” Keith asked. “You want to court me?”

“Yes,” Lance answered emphatically.

“You barely know me,” Keith said.

Lance stepped forward, reaching out like he wanted to touch Keith. Keith automatically stepped back. Lance paused, then lowered his arm with a small, but understanding smile.

“I know enough,” Lance finally replied. “I could tell what kind of person you are from the moment I saw you. I could see it in your eyes.”

“And what kind of person am I?” Keith asked, wary but curious.

Lance’s smile grew. “Someone worthy of love.”

Keith blinked. He stared at Lance for a long moment, heat slowly crawling up to his face. Lance cocked his head.

“Keith?”

“I have to go,” Keith said a little too loudly.

He hurried around the baffled demon towards the doors.

“Wait,” Lance called out. “You’ll come back, right?”

Keith hesitated, his hand gripping the door handle. He turned back to Lance’s hopeful face and nodded. Then, before he could see the Demon King’s reaction, Keith slipped out of the throne room.

\-----

Despite his better judgement, Keith kept his promise. He returned to the demon tower every week and allowed Lance to...woo him. It was awkward at first. Keith had never been wooed before, and didn’t know how to react when Lance finished a serenade or presented Keith with a gift. However, Lance never made him feel embarrassed by his lack of an appropriate response, even going so far as to tell Keith his expression of mild panic was cute, which in turn would snap Keith out of his awkwardness to snap back a retort.

It wasn’t long before Keith found himself getting used to Lance’s company. Enjoying it even, not that he would admit it out loud. The over-the-top gestures of romance still threw him (on one occasion, Keith agreed to let Lance teach him to waltz and entered the throne room the following week to find an entire orchestra of demonic bards waiting to provide the music) but mostly they would just sit and talk and get to know each other.

It was...nice.

“So why Wednesday?” Lance asked one night.

Keith looked up from his steak. The Demon King had come to realize that his more overzealous attempts at courtship often freaked Keith out and downscaled accordingly, so this time they were simply having a candle-lit dinner, just the two of them.

When Keith stared back at him blankly, Lance elaborated.

“You always visit on Wednesday,” he said. “Is there a particular reason why?”

“Oh,” Keith returned to his food with a shrug. “Not really. I’m the highest leveled swordsman in Altea, so I have a lot of responsibilities. This is the only day where my schedule is free enough to come here.”

“Wait wait wait,” Lance raised an eyebrow, leaning closer over the table. The light from the candles illuminated his blue eyes. “Are you saying Wednesday is your day off from work and you use it to visit me?”

“Um, yeah I guess.”

Those blue eyes shone brighter than usual. A trickle of warmth rose up Keith’s cheeks and he cast his gaze downward.

Clearing his throat, Keith said, “Pass the bread?”

Lance handed over the basket, his sappy smile not budging an inch. 

\-----

Lance hummed happily as he wove little jewels and baubles into Keith's hair. Though the human still wouldn't accept Lance's marriage proposal, he continued to visit over the past few months, allowing Lance to gradually break down his walls and show Keith that he truly cared about him.

Granted, when Lance first met Keith it was more infatuation than love. Keith was the most beautiful creature Lance had ever laid eyes on, and he wanted him immediately. But, as he courted Keith and got to know him, Lance's feelings grew into something deeper, something more genuine. Despite the human's prickly nature, Lance learned Keith was a good person who cared about others, and would spend his whole life fighting demons if it meant saving a single innocent life. Altea was full of heroes, but Keith was the first Lance met who seemed truly worthy of the title.

Somehow, Lance convinced Keith of his sincerity and now here they were, sitting cross-legged on the floor of Lance's throne room while Lance played with Keith's hair. 

"Done!" Lance announced. "What do you think?"

Keith took the handheld mirror and examined the small braids and jewelry woven throughout his inky locks.

"It's pretty," he acknowledged. 

"See? I told you."

When Keith's answering smile dimmed, Lance's grin faded with it.

"What's wrong?" Lance asked.

Keith bit his lip and turned so they faced each other. Lance felt his good mood sink.

"I've been asked by the queen to complete a quest," Keith finally said.

"Wow, the queen herself asked you? That's a big honor, right?" Lance smirked. "It's not to kill me, is it?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Technically I'm already on that quest. But no. I have to bring her an ancient artifact that hasn’t been seen in thousands of years, which wouldn’t be a big deal except I haven’t been able to find a single lead. At this rate I’m gonna have to just do random dungeons until I find the damn thing.”

“Maybe I can help,” Lance said. “What are you looking for?”

“The Staff of Oriande.”

Lance wracked his brain. “Sounds vaguely familiar. Hold on.”

He summoned a large tome from his library and flipped through it.

“There’s not much,” he said, scanning the paragraphs. “The Staff is a powerful magic item that was once forged by master artificiers. That’s...frustratingly vague.” Lance shut the book with a frown. “Nothing on its location either.”

“Dungeon crawling it is,” Keith sighed.

“Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

“That’s okay,” Keith said. “It’s more than I had, believe it or not.”

“I’ll keep researching,” Lance replied. “And I’ll get Pidge and Hunk to help. I’m sure by the next time you visit, we’ll know more.”

“Um, that’s actually why I brought this up in the first place,” Keith bit his lip. “This quest is going to need my full, undivided attention. I don't know if I'll have time to visit again until it's complete."

"Oh," Lance said. "Well...how long do you think it'll take?"

"At least a month," Keith shrugged. "Maybe two."

"...Oh." 

"But," Keith ducked his head to catch Lance's solemn gaze, "I'll come back as soon as I can. Promise."

Lance mustered up a weak smile. "It's okay. We both have responsibilities."

When Keith didn’t look convinced, the Demon King flung himself backward to sprawl across the floor, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

"I'll just lay here, wasting away until I can see your beautiful face again."

Keith snorted and delivered a light kick to Lance's boot. "You'll live."

"Will it really be living though?" Lance sighed dramatically. 

Keith’s chuckles faded when he looked out the tall windows at the setting sun. 

“I should probably get going,” he said, a distinct note of reluctance in his voice that matched the feeling in Lance’s chest.

They both rose to their feet and looked at each other, neither seeming to quite know what to say.

“Well, I’ll see you around, I guess,” Keith said awkwardly.

Lance offered him a weak smile. “Soon, hopefully.”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded.

When he still didn’t leave, Lance tilted his head. Keith glanced around the empty throne room, then turned back to Lance. With a determined look on his bright red face, Keith stepped forward and kissed Lance on the cheek.

“Okay, bye!”

Before Lance could react, Keith hurried out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Lance’s hand slowly drifted up to brush against the spot Keith’s lips had touched. A smile spread across his face.

\-----

Three weeks passed, and Lance’s elation over the kiss had long since faded into sulking at Keith’s absence. He couldn’t even distract himself, since no humans had made it up to his floor lately. All Lance did for days was drape himself over his throne and daydream about their hopefully soon-to-be reunion.

A light knock on the door snapped Lance out of his fantasy, and he scrambled to sit up properly in his chair.

Lance cleared his throat. “Come in.”

Hunk poked his head inside. “Hey, Lance. Pidge and I have something we want to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?”

“Of course,” Lance waved his friends closer.

Hunk and Pidge were two of the most powerful demons in the tower, and Lance’s best friends since childhood. Tall and broad, Hunk used his size and brute strength to his advantage in battle. Two large bull horns grew from his head, belying his gentle nature, and a metal ring hung from his nose. Conversely, Pidge relied on her speed and wit to fight opponents. Even Lance had a hard time targeting her with his bow when she scuttled across the walls and ceiling, and many an adventurer had been caught in her web. Outside of combat, Pidge liked to use all eight on her spindly legs to tinker with her experiments.

“What’s up?” Lance asked.

Hunk and Pidge exchanged a look.

“Well, we know you’ve been lonely since Keith left,” Hunk started.

“More like pathetic,” Pidge muttered.

Hunk shot her a look before continuing. “And we wanted to help you. So we thought, if Keith can’t come to you, maybe you could go to him.”

“What?” Lance blinked. “But I’m not supposed to leave the tower. What if an adventurer shows up? And besides, I’m the Demon King. I can’t exactly waltz into town.”

The two other demons exchanged another look, this one decidedly mischievous, and Pidge held up a gold amulet that pulsed faintly with magic.

\-----

Keith heaved a sigh as he slumped down into his seat, the sounds of the tavern a dull roar in his ears. He knew this quest would be difficult, but damn was he tired. The last few weeks had been nothing but crawling through dungeon after dungeon in search of the artifact Queen Allura wanted. So far, no luck. 

Since it was still early in the day, Keith couldn’t go home and sleep to recharge his stamina. Well, he could but that would feel like admitting defeat, plus he wanted to leave soon for the next dungeon, so instead of a nap, he settled for a mug of ale mixed with a potion that would give him a slight buff.

The quest wasn’t the only thing that had Keith in low spirits. Though he’d never admit it out loud, he missed his trips to the demon tower. It wasn’t until he wasn’t able to visit that Keith realized just how much fun spending time with Lance was. Not to mention what he’d done right before he left the tower. Just thinking about it made his cheeks feel warm.

Maybe it was for the best that he couldn’t go back. He wasn’t sure if he was mentally prepared to face the Demon King quite yet.

Keith took a long pull of ale when a shadow fell across his table. He looked up to find James Griffin, a former classmate and fellow swordsman. Keith set down his mug with another sigh.

“Yes?”

James glanced over his shoulder at the table where his party sat. They all waved. James turned back to Keith.

“My friends and I wanted to invite you to our table,” he said.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Just your table?”

James’ cheeks gained a faint tinge of pink. For some reason, he had been trying to convince Keith to join their party recently. Keith wasn’t sure why. Not only did it make little sense strategically since they already had a swordsman in their comp, but Keith always thought James didn’t like him. He certainly made a point of trying to show Keith up at the Adventurer’s Academy, and seemed resentful when he failed. Being on the same team was just asking for trouble.

Thus, Keith raised his mug to his lips with a dismissive, “Pass.”

James scowled. 

“I know Queen Allura gave you some kind of mission,” he said. “You’ve been in and out of town all month, and you look like you’ve barely slept the whole time. If you let us help you, maybe you’ll actually find what you’re looking for.”

Keith ignored him, continuing to drink.

James opened his mouth again when the tavern door suddenly slammed open.

“Keith!” a familiar voice shouted. “There you are!”

In his shock, Keith accidentally inhaled some of his ale, causing him to then spit it out. James wrinkled his nose in disgust when some of the spray hit him, but Keith was too busy staring at the newcomer hurrying towards them to notice.

“W...what…” Keith blinked rapidly. “How…oof!”

He stood up only to stagger when he found himself with an armful of Lance.

“I missed you so much!” Lance pulled away to cup Keith’s face, tilting it up to meet his blue gaze. “Did you miss me?”

Pink painted Keith’s cheeks. “I…”

A throat cleared. Keith and Lance turned to James, who was mopping the ale from his face with a handkerchief.

“Friend of yours, Keith?” he asked wryly.

Lance’s eyes narrowed. He released Keith’s face in order to sling a casual arm around Keith’s shoulders.

“Yes, actually,” Lance sniffed. “The name’s La-”

“Taylor,” Keith loudly interrupted. When the two stared at him, Keith swallowed and said, “This is my friend, Taylor.”

Though the Demon King had somehow disguised himself as a human, he didn’t look all that different than normal aside from the missing wings, horns, and tail. Calling him by his name would only increase suspicion, so Keith blurted out the first one that came to mind.

Lance raised his eyebrows, but seemed to roll with it, shooting James a smile. “What he said.”

James eyed them suspiciously.

“Well, anyway,” he finally said, “offer still stands if you change your mind.”

Keith nodded and James returned to his group. He didn’t even notice James’ friends giving him sympathetic pats as Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist to drag the demon out of the tavern and into a line of trees nearby. Once they were far enough that Keith was reasonably sure they were alone, he whirled around to glare at Lance.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed.

“I told you already,” Lance pouted in a way that was definitely not cute. “I missed you.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just waltz into town,” Keith said. “What if someone recognized you? Every adventurer in the area would be after your head!”

Instead of looking properly remorseful for his actions, Lance’s expression grew pleased.

“Aw, Keith,” he cooed, “are you worried about me?”

“Yes!” Keith snapped.

Furious, Keith spun around, unable to look at Lance as he tried to get a grip on his emotions. He wasn’t really sure himself why he was reacting this way since Lance was powerful enough to take care of himself even if he was discovered. So why were Keith’s hands shaking?

He heard the shuffle of boots on the grass, and two arms slipped around Keith’s waist from behind while a pointy chin rested on his shoulder. With a huff, Keith turned his face away from Lance’s.

“I’m sorry,” Lance’s voice murmured in his ear. “I didn’t realize this would upset you so much. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

Keith stayed silent for a moment before turning back around. Lance’s arms remained on his waist.

“I am happy to see you,” Keith said. “But a little warning would have been nice. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Lance grinned. “And while I do apologize, I gotta say the look on your face when I walked in was priceless.”

Keith punished the demon’s snickering with a smack to his arm, which only made him laugh harder. He tried to pull away, but Lance reeled him back into his embrace.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “For real though, it’s actually touching to know that you worry about me.”

“I don’t,” Keith automatically denied, a traitorous blush high on his cheekbones. “Damn demon. You can die for all I care.”

“Oh, right, my mistake,” Lance’s smirk softened into a smile. 

He gazed fondly at Keith, who, trapped as he was in Lance’s arms, had no choice but to stare into his twinkling blue eyes. It was horrible. Keith felt like his face was on fire by this point and his stomach contained dozens of butterflies and Lance’s stupidly handsome smile was getting closer by the second and Keith’s eyes were falling shut and-

_ Ping! _

They froze, lips centimeters apart. With a small cough, Keith forced himself to step back, immediately feeling bereft without the warmth of Lance’s body heat. Avoiding eye contact, Keith checked his notifications and cursed. 

“I have to go.”

“What?” Lance’s face fell even further. “But I just got here.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Keith said, “but I have to leave now if I want to be back home by nightfall.”

“Where are you going?”

Keith hesitated. Lance’s pout turned into a suspicious frown.

“Keith.”

“The Quantum Abyss,” he finally admitted.

“What?!” Lance shrieked, causing Keith to jump. “That’s the most dangerous place in Altea!”

“I know,” Keith replied irritably. “That’s why I have to leave now while there’s still plenty of daylight. Last time I went there, I got killed as soon as the sun went down.”

“You’ve already been there?” 

“Yeah, twice,” Keith nodded. “Both times I died before reaching the dungeon, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now. You don’t have to worry,” he added at Lance’s expression. “I’ll be fine.”

Lance’s lips pursed into a thin line and he nodded.

“Yeah, you will be fine,” he said, “because I’m going with you.”

Keith blinked. “You don’t have to-”

“Nope, I’ve already decided,” Lance interrupted. “I’m coming. Besides,” he shot Keith a bright grin, “I’ve always wanted to go on a quest! This’ll be fun!”

“The Quantum Abyss is a desolate wasteland full of monsters where the air is toxic and the plants kill anything that touches them, but sure,” Keith said, “it’ll be a blast.”

“That’s the spirit!”

They fetched Keith’s horse from the stable and rode west. The further they travelled, the fewer people they saw, which meant Lance could probably take off his amulet and fly instead of riding behind Keith. However, even after they hadn’t seen another human for a good half hour, neither Lance nor Keith suggested he let go of Keith’s waist.

Finally, they reached their destination. Keith dismounted and walked over to where the ground came to an abrupt halt, the very land itself ripped apart to form an enormous, jagged canyon. Coming up beside him, Lance peered down into the seemingly endless darkness and let out a low whistle.

“So that’s the Quantum Abyss, huh?” he asked. “I can see why you wanted to go during the day.” He squinted. “Can light even reach down that far?”

“Yes, but just barely,” Keith replied. “The important part is that a lot of the monsters are nocturnal, so unless you wake them up they’ll leave you alone. But if they catch you after dark…” he trailed off with a grimace.

Lance raised his eyebrows. “I see.”

He didn’t look particularly troubled, but Keith supposed that was to be expected of a Demon King. 

Keith grabbed two potions from his inventory and offered one to Lance.

“For the toxic fumes,” he explained.

Lance, however, waved the bottle away. “I’m not human so it shouldn’t bother me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are you worried about me?” Lance’s lips curved into that sly smile again.

With a scoff, Keith shoved the extra potion back into his pouch and downed the other one.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “Don’t come crying to me if you’re wrong.”

The two men began to traverse the narrow steps that zigzagged down the cliffside. As they went deeper and the air grew colder, a small holographic screen popped up with a timer to let Keith know that his potion was in effect and how much longer it would last. Keith glanced over at Lance who looked no worse for wear. The Demon King shot him an I-told-you-so smirk and Keith looked away with a sharp, “tch,” even though secretly he was relieved.

After what felt like ages, they made it to the bottom of the abyss. Keith had been here a handful of times before, but it never failed to put him ill at ease. The Quantum Abyss felt like a whole other world. The ground was made of jagged stone and soot-like dirt, covered by a layer of toxic, purple mist that curled around their boots. What little vegetation managed to crawl out of the earth looked dead and barren, though Keith knew from experience that it was just as deadly as everything else.

Lance peered up toward the sun, whose light filtered weakly through the haze.

“Huh,” he said. He then turned to Keith with a smile. “So, where to?”

“The dungeon I’m looking for is that way,” Keith pointed west. “If we walk at a decent pace and don’t run into any major delays, we should reach it in a couple of hours.”

“Better get going, then,” Lance grinned.

Keith would never admit it, but as they made their way across the Abyss he became more and more grateful that Lance came along. Although many of the monsters living there were nocturnal, there were still several that weren’t, and Keith and Lance constantly had to fend off attacks. Keith probably could have handled them on his own, but with Lance’s archery skills they defeated the monsters twice as quickly. Keith had a sneaking suspicion that if Lance went all out he could kill the monsters in one hit, but didn’t ask why the Demon King was still pretending to be human. It was probably because Lance thought it was more fun.

Whatever the reason, Keith was glad Lance was still in disguise when they spotted another group of adventurers. Though it might not have actually mattered, since the group didn’t seem to notice them, too busy fighting a large troll.

Well, Keith assumed that was what they were doing. It mainly looked like they were hindering each other more than helping. A man dressed as a mage was yelling at another man who appeared to be trying to beat the troll with martial arts, but his moves looked like they were only level one or two. A third man laughed maniacally while controlling a swarm of rats, which the troll seemed mildly irritated by at best. The fourth party member was a blonde woman dressed as a bard, but instead of singing or playing an instrument she was just shrieking rude epithets at the rest of the group. The fifth and final member was a stout older man who was blindly wailing on the troll with a large club.

Keith and Lance watched the chaos for a long moment. They exchanged a look and in silent agreement, moved on.

“We should be getting close now,” Keith said a while later. When there was no reply, he paused and looked back. “Lance?”

Lance stared off into the distance, his eyes wide. “What is that?’

Keith returned to Lance’s side and followed the demon’s gaze. A little ways away a tall spire of jet black stone jutted out from the earth like a deadly spike. It was the largest structure for miles, tall enough to disappear past the clouds.

“That’s the Pollux Spire,” Keith said. “Legend says if you can make it to the top, you can get a magical egg that’ll hatch into whatever creature suits you best.”

“Like a pet?”

“Yes, but better,” Keith said. “A creature hatched from a Pollux egg will be forever loyal, and match its owner perfectly. They’re highly coveted, but almost impossible to get.”

“Really?” Lance eyed the spire skeptically. “It doesn’t look that hard.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He grabbed Lance’s wrist and led him to the base of the spire.

“Look,” he said, guiding Lance’s hand to touch the surface. “The stone is smooth and tougher than metal. Even with magical gear, climbing all the way to the top is incredibly difficult, and that’s not taking into account the monsters that will attack you as you get higher up. And even if you do make it to the top, there’s no guarantee you’ll find an egg. Sometimes it’s there and sometimes it isn't.”

Lance hummed thoughtfully. Before Keith could ask what he was thinking, the demon removed his amulet and shoved it into Keith’s hands.

“Here, hold this for a minute.”

Keith blinked. “What-”

With a powerful sweep of his newly reformed wings, Lance launched himself into the air. Keith watched him disappear behind the clouds, his concern growing as he heard shrieks and the unmistakable sounds of battle. Flashes of light broke through the clouds like lightning. 

Several minutes passed. His anxiety growing, Keith was ready to scale the damn thing himself when a figure finally descended. Lance landed with a triumphant grin, a large multi-colored egg in his hands.

“That was fun,” he said.

A bark of incredulous laughter made its way past Keith’s lips. Seeing Lance was not only safe, but looked like he hadn’t even broken a sweat, Keith felt reluctantly impressed.

“Did you really want a pet that badly?”

“Huh?” Lance asked. “Me? Not really.”

Keith frowned. “Then why did you do that?”

“For you, silly,” Lance said. He held the egg out with a smile.

“Me?” Keith asked, surprised. “Why?”

Lance averted his eyes. With a faint flush, he shrugged.

“I dunno, I just...don’t want you to get lonely.”

“You think I’m lonely?” Keith asked, still trying to process what the hell was going on. “You’re the one who’s stuck in a tower all day.”

“Well, yeah,” Lance shrugged again, “but I’ve got all my friends. Pidge and Hunk hang out with me a lot, and the other demons too when they aren’t busy. You have the freedom to go out and be with people, but I know you, Keith. You keep to yourself. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I can’t help but worry about you sometimes.”

“Worry about me?” 

The blush on Lance’s cheeks deepened, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“I mean, I think about you all the time,” he said. “But I thought that if you had a magical pet, I wouldn’t worry as much that you’re lonely when we’re not together.”

Keith bit his lip. He couldn’t deny that he wasn’t particularly close to anyone besides Shiro. He never considered himself to be lonely before, but since meeting Lance and the other demons, Keith had to admit that he felt happier than he’d been in a long time.

Keith accepted the egg. Once the trade was confirmed, he placed it into his inventory with a soft smile.

“Thank you, Lance.”

“Of course,” Lance smiled back.

They stood there for a moment, just looking into each others’ eyes, before Keith finally cleared his throat and stepped away.

“We should probably get back to the mission,” he said. “We’re making good time, but who knows what the dungeon will be like.”

“Please,” Lance scoffed haughtily, “you’re the best swordsman in the kingdom and I’m the Demon King. This’ll be a breeze.”

\-----

Two hours later, Keith’s eye twitched as he stared at the newest bane of his existence.

“What was it that you said?” he grumbled. “It’ll be a breeze?”

“Shut up,” Lance said with a scowl. “I thought we’d be fighting monsters, not...doing whatever the hell this is.”

The Demon King waved a hand at the intricate mess of gears and levers before them. The contraption was one of many scattered throughout the temple, and when operated correctly, it raised or lowered the water level of one of the five floors. 

“Why did it have to be a water dungeon?” Keith groaned. “Nobody likes water dungeons.”

“Look, we can figure this out,” Lance said. “We’re smart! We just gotta...uh…”

Keith watched, unimpressed, as Lance began to press and flip the many buttons and levers at random. To be fair, they weren’t completely in the dark. After exploring the temple and defeating any monsters that got in their way, Keith and Lance had figured out what order to activate the devices in so the water would end up at the correct level to open the magical gate that blocked the way forward. The problem was that they didn’t know how to turn the damn things on in the first place.

“Ugh, this is impossible!” Lance threw his hands into the air. “Let’s just blast the gate open.”

“We already tried that,” Keith reminded him. “The rebound almost sent you flying out of the Abyss.”

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with a better solution!”

“We could...destroy the device?”

“Then we wouldn’t be able to raise or lower the water at all!”

“You don’t know that!”

“There’s gotta be some kind of solution,” Lance said. “You’re the adventurer, what would you usually do in this situation?”

“It’s a puzzle,” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s gotta be a clue or riddle or something that we can use to figure out how to activate the device, but we’ve been in every room and haven’t found anything.”

“Uuuugh,” Lance trudged to the center of the room and sat on the floor. 

Keith frowned. “What are you doing?”

“I need a break,” Lance said, flopping onto his back. 

“We don’t have time-”

“We’re not getting anywhere with the way we’re going,” Lance patted the spot next to him. “Come on, maybe looking at it with fresh eyes will help.”

Keith opened his mouth to argue, paused, then sighed and walked over to join Lance on the floor. Out of stubbornness, he didn’t lay next to the Demon King. Instead he laid down so his body was pointed in the opposite direction and their heads were side-by-side.

Ignoring Lance’s pout, Keith said, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“This is your first quest,” Keith bit his lip. “You seemed so excited when we started, but now we’re stuck dealing with this bullshit.”

Lance chuckled. “I have to admit, a puzzle dungeon wasn’t what I expected. But I’m still having fun.”

Keith turned his head slightly to look at Lance. “You are?”

“Well, yeah,” Lance smiled at Keith. “You’re here with me. Slaying monsters or solving stupidly complicated puzzles, it doesn’t make any difference as long as we’re together.”

Heat crept up Keith's face. Unable to look into Lance’s earnest gaze for a second longer, he turned his attention back to the ceiling. 

“How can you say stuff like that with a straight face?” he muttered.

A low chuckle reverberated by his ear. “You know you like it.”

“Shut up.”

“You loooove my sweet talk.”

“Lance, seriously, be quiet for a minute,” Keith squinted. “Do you see that?”

“What, you being rude while I’m trying to woo you?” Lance huffed. Keith reached out to direct the demon’s gaze upward. “...Oh.”

Faintly glowing runes littered the ceiling. Keith had dismissed them as mere decoration before, but now that he was looking at them straight on, the colors and symbols looked familiar.

“That’s it!” Lance exclaimed. “That must be the clue!”

“We found it,” Keith stared up in awe.

The two exchanged a grin. Sure enough, the pattern worked, and the water level lowered, allowing them to access the next device. Using a new pattern in each subsequent room, they raised and lowered the water until it finally matched the large glowing line painted across the main chamber of the dungeon. With a melodic chime, the magic barrier on the gate dissolved and the gate swung open.

After that, it was a simple matter of defeating the dungeon boss, which they did in record time. As the giant squid monster’s remains crumbled to dust, Lance shot Keith a cocky smirk.

“Told you,” he said. “Like a breeze.”

Keith rolled his eyes and went to the unlocked chamber where their prize awaited. An ornate staff hovered above a marble pedestal. Runes were carved into the snow white wood, which branched up into thin twisting tendrils to clutch a large pink gemstone at the top. Keith gingerly took it in his hands. It was almost as tall as he was, and radiated magic.

“This is what Queen Allura wanted?” Lance asked.

“The Staff of Oriande,” Keith nodded. “I’ve fought through half a dozen dungeons looking for it.”

“Well, you finally found it,” Lance grinned. “Which means you can visit the tower again, right?”

“I’ll have to check in with the queen, but probably, yeah.”

“Good,” a warm hand cupped Keith’s cheek, diverting his attention from the staff up to meet Lance’s soft gaze, “because I’ve missed you.”

Keith blushed. “You said that earlier.”

“And I’m saying it again now,” Lance’s smile turned fond, and a little bit melancholic. “I missed you, Keith. Every day you didn’t return was torture.”

The heat in Keith’s cheeks grew stronger. He turned away and busied himself with finding a spot in his inventory to place the staff.

“Now you’re just being overdramatic,” he mumbled. Keith peeked over his shoulder. “But...I missed you too.” He bit his lip. “Every day.”

Keith found an empty slot and stored the artifact away. As soon as it disappeared, a sharp tug spun him back around to crash against Lance’s chest with a yelp.

“Hey!” 

His words died when he looked up to find Lance’s face centimeters from his own. A small part of his mind lamented the unfairness of it all. Weren’t demons supposed to be scary and monstrous? They certainly weren’t supposed to have strong jawlines or gentle smiles or crystal blue eyes that seemed to hold an entire universe of love within their infinite depths.

A warm hand settled on Keith’s hip while another reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear. Barely daring to breathe, Keith placed his palms on the front of Lance’s shirt, clutching the fabric to pull the demon just the tiniest bit closer.

This small gesture was all Lance needed. With hooded eyes, he closed the gap between them, and Keith’s own eyes slid shut as their lips brushed. 

It was tentative, at first. Soft and warm and safe. Unexpectedly, Keith was the one to take it a step further when he leaned into the kiss, applying more pressure and instinctively letting his tongue flick out to taste Lance’s bottom lip. Lance froze. 

Before Keith could worry he’d done something wrong, the hand at his hip moved to the small of his back and pressed him closer, and the hand cupping his cheek slipped back into his hair, tilting Keith’s head to a better angle so Lance could deepen the kiss.

Toes curling, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck. Before things could get too heated, however, a sudden sharp pain made Keith jerk back.

“Ow,” he touched his bottom lip with a small wince.

“Sorry,” Lance said. “Fangs.”

He grinned sheepishly, showing off the offending teeth. 

Keith rolled his eyes. “I knew there would be a downside to this. Oh well, we gave it our best shot.”

“Babe, nooo,” Lance held him tighter as Keith playfully tried to escape his grasp. “I’ll kiss it better, I promise.”

“That would just give me more bites.”

“Then I’ll kiss those too!” Lance declared. “I’ll give you as many kisses as it takes!”

“I don’t think you understand the problem here.”

“Shhh, just let me love you.”

“But you-mmph!”

His lips were covered by Lance’s once again. Keith smiled into the kiss, slipping his arms around the Demon King’s waist as his eyes fell shut.

\-----

Shoulders squared and head held high, Keith walked down the long, plush carpet that led to Queen Allura’s throne. Upon reaching the dais, he knelt before her with his head bowed low.

“Your majesty,” he greeted. 

“Keith,” she smiled and gestured for him to stand. “What brings Altea’s finest warrior to see me?”

Though it had been a few years since Shiro’s retirement, Keith was still getting used to being considered the best swordsman in the kingdom. It felt especially weird when the queen herself referred to him as such. He mentally shook his thoughts away.

“I found the Staff of Oriande,” he said.

Keith summoned the artifact from his inventory and presented it to Allura, who took it with a soft gasp.

“Thank you, Keith,” she said. “I knew I made the right choice entrusting you with this quest.”

Keith offered her a short bow.

“If I may be so bold,” he said, “why exactly did you want it?”

As a swordsman with no subclass, Keith knew little of magic and sorcery, but even he could sense the sheer amount of power radiating from the pink crystal. If Allura felt the need for such a weapon, Keith could think of no reason besides war.

Seeming to follow his line of thought, Queen Allura gave Keith a reassuring smile.

“It’s just a precaution,” she said. 

“For what?” Keith asked. When Allura hesitated, he added, “As your ‘finest warrior,’ I don’t think it’s out of line to ask if Altea is in danger.”

Allura studied his face for a long moment. The proud line of her shoulders drooped slightly and she sat down on her throne with a sigh.

“It might be nothing,” she admitted. 

Keith offered what he hoped was an encouraging nod.

“It’s just…” Allura pursed her lips, “the Demon King has been suspiciously quiet lately.”

...What.

“Usually we’ll get a report now and then about villages that were attacked by demons, but for the past several months there’s been nothing,” she continued. “I fear that King Lance is planning something, a large-scale attack perhaps. Should that happen, I want to be prepared.”

The reason Lance hadn’t been ordering his minions to plunder innocent villages was because Keith told him early into their courtship that he wouldn’t abide by it, but he couldn’t exactly tell the queen that.

“Oh,” he ended up saying.

Allura tilted her head thoughtfully.

“You often do battle in the demon tower, yes?” she asked. “Have you fought the Demon King yet?”

“Uh, a few times,” Keith nodded. “I still have a ways to go before I’m good enough to be able to defeat him.”

Granted, he hadn’t tried in months, but still.

“Understandable,” Allura said grimly. “The Demon King is extremely powerful, even among boss monsters. I’m sure that with enough time and training, you would be able to best him, but for all we know he could attack tomorrow. Thus,” she tightened her grip on the staff, “I wanted some insurance.”

“I see,” Keith said.

He gazed at the pink crystal embedded into the top of the staff as it pulsed faintly with magic. Could such a thing really defeat Lance? Could it kill him?

“Your majesty,” he said slowly, “this might be an odd question but…”

“Yes?” Allura prompted.

“Do you think we might ever achieve peace with the demons?”

Allura blinked. Her head tilted and she stared down at Keith, who tried not to wilt beneath her unreadable gaze.

“I will always do what is best for my people,” she finally said. “Whether that is making peace with demons or destroying them, I will not hesitate. As my loyal vassal I trust you will do the same.”

Keith swallowed, pinned down by the solemn weight of her stare. Heart sinking, he bowed low one last time.

“Of course, your majesty.”

\-----

Hunk and Pidge watched with bemusement as Lance bustled around his throne room.

“Uh, Lance?” Hunk finally said. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Lance asked distractedly while he crammed several glowing orbs into a chest. “Keith is visiting for the first time in weeks so I gotta make sure everything looks perfect!”

“You did let the place go while you were moping around,” Pidge said, eyeing an unidentifiable blob near her feet, “but you do know you have servants who can clean up for you, right?”

“They’ve already got their hands full making sure the rest of the tower is spotless,” Lance flew up into the air to collect the darts embedded in the ceiling. “Besides, I made this mess so I should clean it up.”

“Why even bother having maids then?” Pidge muttered.

Lance kindly ignored her and swooped back to the ground to toss the darts onto the pile of miscellaneous junk. There, now all that remained was to find some place to put it all. But where? Placing each individual item in his inventory would take forever, and Keith was due any minute, and Lance couldn’t shove the pile into his bedroom because what if Keith wanted to go in there for a hot makeout session? That could totally happen, right?

The Demon King hummed. With a mental shrug, he snapped his fingers and the pile went up in flames, burning to nothingness in seconds.

Judging by their expressions, Hunk and Pidge weren’t quite as impressed with Lance’s creative solution as he was, but before either of them could say anything, a servant poked their head in the room to inform Lance that Keith was climbing the tower.

“Guess that’s our cue to leave,” Pidge said wryly. “C’mon, Hunk, show’s over.”

Lance frowned. “You seriously came up here just to make fun of me?”

“Yup,” Pidge said. She walked out without another word.

“Bye, Lance, have fun on your date!” Hunk waved over his shoulder.

“Thanks, Hunk, you’re a true friend,” Lance raised his voice pointedly. “Unlike some people!”

Pidge merely flipped him off as the doors shut between them. Lance pouted, but his irritation was quickly forgotten thanks to the knock on his door a few seconds later.

“Keith!” Lance flung the doors open and threw his arms around the startled human. “I missed you!”

Keith chuckled softly, his own arms slipping around Lance’s waist. “We just saw each other like, two days ago.”

“Any time spent apart is too much!” Lance proclaimed dramatically. He was rewarded with another laugh.

“I missed you too,” Keith said. They went inside and he blinked. “Woah, what happened here?”

Shit. Lance forgot to clear away the giant scorch mark left from the trash he burned.

“Uhhh…”

“Did an adventurer make it up here?” Keith asked. He turned to Lance with concern in his violet eyes. “Are you okay?”

Lance melted. With a helpless smile, he reached up to brush Keith’s hair behind his ear.

“I’m fine,” he said.

Keith smiled back, relieved. Lance took his hand and led him to the dais and used a flick of magic to vanish the scorch mark on the way.

“What would you like to do for our date today?” he asked.

Pink dusted Keith’s cheeks. “Um, I was hoping we could do this.”

The hero summoned the Pollux egg from his inventory. Lance’s eyes widened.

“You haven’t hatched it yet?”

“No. I, um, thought we could do it together.”

If Lance felt like he was melting before, now he thought he might combust. His face must have given him away, because Keith blushed even harder and averted his gaze in an act of cuteness that was not helping Lance’s condition.

“Okay,” Lance finally said, relieved that his voice sounded mostly normal. “Let’s do it.”

Several minutes later, they sat across from each other on the floor with the egg between them, waiting for it to hatch. Not one to tolerate silence for long, Lance opened his mouth to speak but something about Keith’s face made him hesitate. When they first started, Keith looked excited, eager to see what kind of pet he would get. Now, however, his expression had become more thoughtful, melancholic and perhaps even worried.

“Keith?” Lance said quietly. “Are you alright?”

“Huh?” Keith blinked.

“I dunno, you looked…” Lance trailed off, not sure what to say. “Uh, I’m sure whatever hatches will be awesome. It’s made for you, after all, and you’re the best person I know.”

Those big, purple eyes widened, and a pretty blush graced Keith’s cheeks.

“Thank you,” he replied with a small cough. “That’s very sweet, Lance, but that’s not what I was thinking about.”

“Oh. What were you thinking about then?”

“I, um…”

“Hey,” Lance reached out to gently clasp Keith’s hand in his, “you don’t have to tell me, but I’m here if you wanna talk.”

Keith studied Lance’s earnest gaze. “I…”

A sudden noise cut him off.  Lance and Keith looked down to see tiny cracks begin to spread throughout the Pollux Egg’s shell as it rocked back and forth. A small snout with a black nose poked through the growing hole, pushing its way out until the creature inside tumbled free. 

“A cosmic wolf,” Keith breathed.

Lance stared in awe too. Cosmic wolves were as rare as they were magical. He shot Keith a grin.

“See?” he said. “Told you it would be awesome.”

Keith rolled his eyes, but after some back and forth he accepted Lance’s suggestion of Kosmo for a name. They spent the rest of the day playing with the wolf pup, throwing things for him to fetch and chasing him around the large throne room. Eventually, Kosmo got tired and curled up in Keith’s lap for a nap. Lance almost died from cuteness.

“Thank you again, Lance,” Keith said, his voice hushed so as not to wake the puppy. “He only hatched a couple hours ago, but I already adore him.”

“I’m glad,” Lance replied, equally quiet. “Now that you have him by your side, I hope you’ll never feel lonely again, Keith.”

Careful not to disturb Kosmo, Keith shifted closer to Lance on the dais steps. Seeing those gorgeous, violet eyes suddenly mere inches away, Lance almost forgot how to breathe.

“I haven’t felt lonely in a long time,” Keith confessed. 

His smile was soft and fond and so beautiful Lance’s heart hurt just looking at it yet he didn’t dare turn away. Lance leaned in, and Keith’s long eyelashes fell shut. Their lips brushed, and it was just as magical as the last time, with the strong line of Keith’s jaw cupped in Lance’s palm and his silky hair curled around Lance’s fingertips. Lance swiped his thumb across Keith’s cheekbone, drawing out a pleased sigh, and Keith in return ran soothing fingers up and down Lance’s back just below his wings. 

After what felt like an eternity but still wasn’t nearly long enough, they pulled apart. They gazed at each other with shy smiles.

Then, slowly, the clouds returned to Keith’s eyes, taking Lance’s good mood with them.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’ve been thinking,” Keith said, “about us.”

“What about us?” Lance asked cautiously.

“I...I want us to be together.”

“That...” Lance blinked. “That’s great! More than great! It’s what I want too. What I’ve always wanted.”

“I know,” Keith bit his lip. “But, I don’t know if we can.”

“What do you mean?”

“Humans and demons are still enemies, Lance,” Keith said. “If my people found out about us, they’d label me as a traitor. At best, they’d throw me in prison, and at worst they’d use me to get to you. I can’t let that happen.” His eyes hardened. “I won’t.”

“Keith…” Lance took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. “We’ll figure something out.”

Keith looked into his eyes with uncertainty. “You think so?”

“Of course,” Lance grinned. “We can do anything as long as we’re together.”

His violet eyes cleared and Keith leaned against Lance, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Tucked against Lance’s side with Kosmo curled up in his arms, Keith drifted off to take a nap of his own. Lance would wake him when it was time for Keith to head home, but for now he contented himself with running his fingers through Keith’s hair while his mind raced a mile a minute.

As much as Lance wanted to live in his own little world where nothing could hurt them, Keith had a point. They couldn’t truly be together while humans and demons were at war. 

Watching the sun as it began its descent through the open window, a determined glint sparked in Lance’s eyes.

\-----

Keith sat at the table, brows furrowed as he slid a whetstone across his blade over and over again. He was so lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed Shiro sit across from him until the older man spoke.

“Alright, I’ve had enough,” Shiro said. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?” Keith went still, blinking up at him.

“You’ve been sharpening that thing for half an hour,” Shiro replied, his lips quirked slightly in amusement. “I’m pretty sure you maxed out its attack stats ages ago.”

Keith looked down at the knife in his hands and pulled up its attributes. Sure enough, the numbers were as high as they would go, which meant his whetstone was literally useless at this point.

“You clearly have something on your mind, and you visited me out of the blue,” Shiro said, “so I’m guessing you wanna talk about whatever it is.”

Keith scowled, automatically protesting, “I visit.”

Shiro shot him a look and Keith sighed, slumping in defeat. They sat in silence for a moment, a patient look on Shiro’s face as Keith tried to find the right words.

“Do you…” Keith took a deep breath, decided ‘fuck it,’ and blurted out, “Do you think we could ever make peace with the demons?”

Shiro’s eyebrows rose, but his surprise quickly turned contemplative.

“Yes,” he eventually said. When Keith perked up, he added, “It wouldn’t be easy. We’ve been at war for decades, and there’s a lot of history that both sides won’t forget any time soon, but I don’t think finding a peaceful solution is impossible.”

The ball of tension that was lodged in Keith’s chest for the last few days uncoiled ever so slightly. He didn’t know what he would have done if Shiro immediately shot him down or claimed it was their eternal duty to slay demons.

Shiro studied him with a calculating look in his eyes. “Why do you ask?” 

Keith tensed once more. Just because Shiro seemed open to the idea of making peace didn’t mean he would approve of what Keith had been up to these past months. Shiro, however, was one step ahead, and spoke again before Keith could figure out how to reply.

“You’ve gone to the demon tower an awful lot lately,” he noted. “And you seem happier.”

Heat crept up Keith’s face. “I do?”

“Do you have something you want to tell me?” 

“I…” Keith hesitated.

“You don’t have to force yourself if you’re not ready,” Shiro gave him a soft smile full of brotherly affection, “but I’m always here for you if you want to talk.”

“I’m in love with the Demon King,” Keith blurted out.

Shiro froze, his fond expression replaced by bafflement. “Huh?”

Before he knew it, Keith was spilling out the events of the last several months. Lance’s first failed attempts to court him, Keith eventually giving in and finding he enjoyed the Demon King’s company, them going on a quest together, and finally Keith’s inner turmoil about what their relationship means for his duties as a hero.

“...Well,” Shiro said once Keith was done, “I had figured you met someone, but I didn’t expect...that.”

“What should I do?” Keith asked, desperately hoping his brother would have an answer like always. To his disappointment, Shiro merely shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “What do you want to do?”

Biting his lip, Keith stared hard down at the table, his thoughts racing a mile a minute. Finally, he looked back up and said, “I want to talk to Allura, and ask her to make peace with the demons.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Shiro asked. “Allura is kind, but she puts her kingdom first. If she decides you’re wrong, you could be labeled a traitor and thrown in prison, or exiled.”

“I know,” Keith said, “but I have to try. If I can at least convince her to consider the possibility, I know I can get Lance to meet with her. I’m not great with words, but he is.”

Keith knew it wouldn’t be as simple as he was making it out to be. There was no guarantee Allura would listen to him in the first place, and even if she did, he would have to convince Lance to broker a peace treaty as well. Lance said he would do anything for Keith, but Keith was realistic enough to know that Lance had a duty to his people before his own heart. He was noble like that. Still, if he could get Lance to at least try, Keith was sure the Demon King could make Allura see what a good person he really was, just like he had for Keith, and then they could finally put an end to this war.

Shiro cocked his head, staring at Keith with a bemused look, like he was seeing something he hadn’t before. Keith hunched his shoulders self-consciously. 

“What?”

“You really care about him, don’t you?” Shiro asked.

Heat flooded back to Keith’s face. Before he could answer, a knock on the door interrupted them. 

Exchanging a curious look with Keith, Shiro got up to answer it and came face-to-face with an older man with a large, orange mustache and a cheerful grin.

“Good afternoon, Shiro,” he said. “Pardon the intrusion. Is Keith here? I stopped by his house but it was empty.”

“Hi, Coran,” Shiro greeted. “Uh, yeah, he’s here.”

Keith quickly walked over. Coran was Queen Allura’s personal attendant, so if he was looking for Keith it was almost certainly at her behest.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked, easily slipping into his role as a hero of Altea.

Coran, however, flapped a hand at Keith with a laugh.

“No need for such a dour expression, lad. It’s not an emergency,” he assured them. Keith and Shiro both let out a breath of relief. “That said, Queen Allura does request your presence in court as soon as possible.”

“Did she say why?” Keith asked.

“Afraid not.”

Keith turned to Shiro who gave him a crooked grin. “Guess you’re gonna get that talk after all.”

“Guess so.” Keith bit his lip. He’d hoped for more time to prepare, but he knew he shouldn’t waste this opportunity to speak with the queen. 

Shiro squeezed his shoulder with an encouraging smile, and Keith followed Coran to the waiting carriage. On the way to the castle, Keith tried to figure out what to say. Hopefully whatever Allura wanted from him would be sorted out quickly and he could bring up the idea of a peace treaty.

His mind continued to race with reasons and arguments he could present while Coran led him through the castle. Upon entering the queen’s private gardens, Keith felt himself freeze, mentally and physically, as he tried to comprehend the sight in front of him.

“Keith!” Lance excitedly waved with a bright smile. “We were just talking about you!”

Finally regaining control of his body, Keith opened his mouth.

“What,” he said, “the fuck.”

In stilted movements, Keith walked over to the small, round table where Lance sat, undisguised, his horns, wings, and tail out for the whole world to see. Queen Allura sat next to him, prim and proper as ever. A mischievous twinkle in her eyes was the only thing that gave her away as she took a delicate sip from her tea cup. 

“I don’t…” Keith blinked, his eyes roaming over the assorted cupcakes and tiny sandwiches scattered neatly across the table. “What?”

Apparently realizing Keith was having difficulty adjusting to the bizarre alternate universe he’d stumbled into, Lance hopped to his feet and ushered Keith into the third chair.

“Sit down, sit down,” he said. “I know you’re probably a little confused right now.”

That was putting it mildly.

“I would have told you earlier, but I wanted it to be a surprise,” Lance continued, taking his seat. “So, uh, surprise?”

He shot Keith a hopeful grin. Keith stared back.

“Lance,” he finally said, “what exactly is going on?”

His smile slipping a bit, Lance looked over at Allura, who merely took another sip of tea. Turning back with a huff, Lance held both of Keith’s hands in his own. The warmth was grounding and Keith used it to focus on Lance’s explanation.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said the other day,” Lance told him, “about not being able to truly be together with the way things were. So I decided to change the way things were. We’re still working out the finer details, but as of this morning, humans and demons are no longer at war.”

“So you just, what,” Keith frowned, “waltzed in and made peace? Just like that?”

Lance shrugged. “Yeah, basically.”

“He barged into my throne room and demanded we form an alliance so you could get married,” Allura piped up, her lips curled into a wry smile.

“You did what?!”

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds,” Lance hastily assured him.

“It gave my royal guards quite a fright,” Allura continued, ignoring Lance’s frantic gestures. “Several of them had to respawn before anyone figured out what he was going on about.”

“You killed people?” Keith demanded.

“Not on purpose!” Lance said. “It was self-defense!”

“He didn’t actively try to harm anyone,” Allura agreed. “Which is why I decided to hear him out. Once I understood the situation, I found it rather funny.”

“Funny,” Keith repeated faintly.

“Quite,” Allura said. “I’ve been wanting to resolve the conflict with the demons for years. This isn’t how I expected it to happen, but it’s far from the worst case scenario.”

Keith remembered the grim look in Allura’s eyes when she held the Staff of Oriande and suppressed a shiver.

“You seem weirdly okay with this,” he said.

Allura smiled. “I told you before that I’ll do whatever is best for my people.” She took another sip. “I’ve decided this is what’s best.”

Lance gave Keith’s hands a little squeeze, regaining his attention.

“So,” he said, “what do you think? Is this okay?”

“Is it okay?” Keith huffed out a laugh of disbelief. “Lance, it’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

Lance’s eyes widened a fraction, his cheeks turning bright pink, much to Keith and Allura’s amusement.

“I was planning to talk to Allura, too, but you beat me to it,” Keith added. “Which is probably for the best. I was worried I’d fuck it up and get thrown in prison.”

“But you were gonna do it anyway to fight for our love? Aw, that’s so sweet, babe,” Lance cooed, and it was Keith’s turn to blush. “I totally would have rescued you if that happened though.”

“I know you would,” Keith said. Lance preened.

“As amusing as that sounds, I wouldn’t have arrested you,” Allura said. “Believe it or not, Keith, I respect your opinion. I know we aren’t close, but I’d like to think I know the kind of person you are. You have a good heart and genuinely care about our people. Your skill with a blade isn’t the only reason many of us, including myself, thought you would be the one to bring peace to Altea.”

Under the unexpected praise, Keith’s face burned even hotter. 

“And from the looks of it,” she glanced down at Keith and Lance’s clasped hands with a sly smile, “we were right.”

Once Keith recovered from his embarrassment, he joined Lance and Allura’s tea party. Despite having just met, the two rulers already seemed to get along like they’d been friends for years, though Keith wasn’t too surprised. He knew firsthand how easy Lance was to talk to. 

Keith contentedly drank tea and ate tiny sandwiches while he listened to their chatter, occasionally giving his input. Eventually, Coran popped his head through the door and Allura excused herself to take care of some royal duties, though she told them to feel free to stay in the garden for as long as they liked.

Keith had just taken the last sip of his tea when he felt a familiar stare. He turned to see Lance looking at him. The demon’s gaze was so fond and so soft that it made Keith’s stomach flutter and his heart skip a beat.

“What?” Keith asked, his voice hushed.

“Just thinking,” Lance replied, equally as quiet, “now that humans and demons are no longer at odds, we can be together, right? There’s nothing else standing in the way.”

A bubble of happiness rose in Keith’s chest. He nodded.

“Then, I want to ask you something,” Lance continued. “I’ve asked it many times already, but I hope this time will finally be the last.”

He slipped off of his chair to kneel in front of Keith. The bubble in Keith’s chest grew bigger, and he felt like he could barely contain it as Lance took his hands once again, looking up into Keith’s eyes with such love and devotion that Keith couldn’t handle it yet didn’t dare blink for fear of missing even a second of this moment.

“Keith,” Lance said, “will you marry me?”

The bubble finally burst. With a sob, Keith threw himself into Lance’s arms. Tightening his embrace, Lance chuckled against Keith’s lips.

“Is that a yes?”

Leaning back to gaze into Lance’s blue eyes, Keith let himself sink into the feeling of warmth that flooded through him. He knew this wasn’t the end. They would have to work hard to establish and uphold peace, and there were sure to be challenges along the way. But Keith felt confident that they would be able to face anything as long as they had each other.

“Yes,” Keith smiled. He pressed their foreheads together and his eyes slipped shut. “It’s a yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn’t have a title like this and not make some kind of reference to the Gang from Always Sunny, thus the incompetent group in the Abyss, haha.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! ヾ(´▽｀*)ﾉ☆ I had a blast thinking up ways for this AU to parallel INRoS and ways they could diverge. Initially this fic was just going to be snippets of scenes in a role reversal AU, but since it’s me, it turned into a full fledged, if somewhat condensed, story.
> 
> Fun facts:
> 
> Unlike Demon King Keith, Lance had no insecurities about letting his name be known to the humans, thus Keith needing to give him a fake one.
> 
> Lance touched on this in the fic, but even though their roles are reversed, Keith is still the lonelier person in this AU. Due to his open and friendly nature, Lance got to know his fellow demons growing up, so while he was certainly bored stuck in the tower all day, he never became lonely like demon Keith. Human Keith isn’t quite as isolated as his demon counterpart, but he didn’t really have any close friends apart from Shiro. All in all, both Lances make it their mission to save Keith from his own loneliness.
> 
> On a similar note, while human Lance was at the top of his class he didn’t have as many official duties and responsibilities as human Keith simply because he was an archer and Keith was a swordsman, which is considered more of a leadership role in this world. Thus, Lance picked Saturdays to visit Keith on a whim, while Keith picked Wednesdays because it was basically his day off.
> 
> Both Lance in this fic and Keith in INRoS are dragon demons because of their lineage as Demon King. However, if their human counterparts were to become demons they would probably be animal hybrids like all the others (Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, etc). This might be explored further in a future fic *wink wink*
> 
> Last but not least, the chances of finding a Pollux Egg are 1 in 20, which means both here and in the normal AU Lance essentially rolled a nat 20 to get Kosmo (though demon Lance had an infinitely easier time reaching the top of the spire for obvious reasons lol)
> 
> \-----
> 
> As always, special thanks to my beta Melissa! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)ﻭ✧ You da best!
> 
> The next installment in the Rain or Shine universe will return to the normal timeline with demon Keith and hero Lance. I don’t know if I’ll write more of this version of them. As fun as it was, I like the original dynamic best, haha. But also it’s me, so you never know. I’m always open to suggestions for stuff you’d like to see in this series!
> 
> Please leave me a comment/kudos/bookmark, and if you haven’t already, be sure to check out It Never Rains on Saturday and the rest of the series! 
> 
> See you next time! (๑¯◡¯๑)


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